The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/786024
Q. Could you tell us about your work as Junior Account Handler? A. I work at an insurance broking company that works within Lloyds of London. I represent the company's French account, providing trade credit insurance for companies involved in the import and export of various goods. A senior colleague and I provide access to the London insurance market for the Paris office and its clients. Q. Describe an average day… A. I begin at 9am by reading through emails. I review any new inquiries with my colleague, and decide which ones each of us will broker to the London market insurers. I might then negotiate various compliance sign-offs with colleagues to enable us to send out evidence of policy coverage. Dependent on inquiries, I research the individual clients and visit Lloyds of London to broker deals with the underwriters there. After that I provide feedback and quotes from the underwriters to the Paris office. Q. How often do you use French in your role? A. Every day. I review correspondence between clients and the Paris office in French, and I speak a mixture of French and English with colleagues in the Paris office. I also receive documents in French which I then translate for the benefit of my team. Q. How much travel does the work entail? A. My first trip to Paris on behalf of my team was in January. I assisted another London colleague in a networking trip with new French clients who work in the shipping industry. Q. What attracted you to the insurance industry? A. The career prospects, the international nature of the industry and the opportunity to work in Lloyds of London. It is one of the last surviving face-to-face financial markets in the world, and the history of this institution interests me greatly. Q. Do you think your languages degree was helpful in attaining the role? A. Definitely. One of the key criteria in the job specification was fluency in French, which my degree helped me to attain. Q. Do you see your career continuing in languages? A. Yes certainly. I have always felt strongly that I wanted to use my languages degree and not lose my ability to speak French. I feel it is a skill that enhances my communication skills, and it opens up a wider network and greater opportunities. Interview by Amy Wakeham. After gaining a first in French Studies, Matthew Bouette found work as an insurance broker. He outlines what he enjoys about the role Just the job thelinguist.uberflip.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 The Linguist 29 OPINION & COMMENT Man of the moment I'd like to say how much I enjoyed reading your interview with Sam Garrett (TL55,6). It is great to see a Dutch translator featured and he is certainly the name on everyone's lips at the moment. When Tommy Wieringa was interviewed in Bath in October, he said Sam Garrett's translation of his book A Beautiful Young Wife was faultless! As an aside, readers interested in Dutch WWII history, may enjoy a book I have coming out, which tells the story of my Dutch family history. Aletta Stevens MCIL Brexit equivalents According to Teresa Tinsley (TL55,6), the "experts" rightly remark that 'Brexit' should be feminine in Italian. The same goes for French and Spanish. It might be slightly amusing to think of equivalents in those languages: perhaps Sortiedefrance, Salidespañola and Uscitaliana. An Italian contact to whom I mentioned this commented, in English, "not only does Uscitaliana sound terrible on phonetic grounds, it does on political grounds as well!" Indeed, and so in my view does 'Brexit'. But then those three 'equivalents' are just a joke… aren't they? Paul Guest ACIL